About the Arts Council

The De Soto Arts Council is a non-profit organization established to encourage and promote art within De Soto, KS and surrounding areas.

Looking for a way to share your art and connect with other local visual artists, musicians, thespians and more? Please consider joining the ​De Soto Arts Council!

We’re always up to something, and we have BIG plans for new ways to show love to our community and support local arts!

We’re visual-arts-heavy right now, but we’re very excited to expand into musical and theater arts! If you or someone you know is interested or talented in those areas, PLEASE send them our way!

After a successful art show held during De Soto's Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2007, the De Soto Arts Council formed.

By August of 2008, the new organization was officially introduced to the De Soto community and members immediately began plans for a second art show.

The council grew and began to host the "Sunflower Artfest" annually, in conjunction with the De Soto Rotary Club's PolioPlus Project at The Barn at Killcreek. The Artfest turned into the Fine Arts and Crafts Show and is now held the first week of November at a location announced each year.

In January 2013, the Council began the development of the De Soto Arts Council Arts Center. The City of De Soto and the City Council approved the development of the Arts Center, which is located in the lower level of City Hall. The De Soto Arts Council received a "Creative Arts Industry Incentive" Grant Award in 2013 from the Kansas Department of Commerce, Creative Arts Industries Commission.

In 2018 the Arts Council and Loya Coker partnered to bring about a large public mural of sunflowers by Emily Euler.

In 2021 the Arts Council and City Hall partnered to commission the first public sculpture in De Soto; Native Spirit, by Tim Mispagel.